She finished 28th even though she started 42nd. In 2016, Patrick led a career high 30 laps and completed more circuits than all but three other drivers. Source: Wikimedia Commons. [2], In 2020, Gracie Trotter became the second female driver to win in the West Series, with her victory in the race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring on September 26. Additionally, her NASCAR license has come into question. In addition, she has competed in the complete NASCAR national touring series, ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde and Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series. Marian Pagan (1 / 1954) Patrick bagged numerous winnings for women in the auto racing field, including the IndyCar, NASCAR cup, Indianapolis 500, and Daytona 500. The history of NASCAR started in December 1947. Ethel Flock Mobley. 10 Best Female NASCAR Drivers Of All Time - sportsunfold.com Moving forward, they will continue to pave their way in the male-dominated field. Patrick is best known for winning the 2008 Indy Japan 300 and becoming the first woman to win in an IndyCar Series race. Some of her other awards are the 2005 Indianapolis 500 Rookie and the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series. Moreover, she finished in 29th position back in 2011, which is also her best. Dr. Ketra Armstrong, a professor of race and inclusion in sports at the University of Michigan, told ABC News. Her victory was the first for a female NASCAR driver since Tammy Jo Kirk won in 1994. Moving forward in her career, after concluding the 2016 NASCAR K&N, she debuted at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Shane Acedera has been writing online sports articles since 2003 but have been a writer and a blogger since high school. 10 Best Female NASCAR Drivers Ever Ranked In 2020 As for the 2022 season there are only 2 females running a full season Hailie Deegan[4] and Toni Breidinger. Chrissy Wallace. The First African-American Female NASCAR Driver. 1986 saw the first woman lead in a Busch Series Race in Patty Moise. "I feel like a lot of women drivers tend to hit a plateau at a certain point and we just can't break through to get to that top level of NASCAR," she said. But here we have brought you 16 Best Female NASCAR Drivers who prove they are here to change the stereotype. In 2019, Manami Kobayashi became the third woman to win a race in a NASCAR touring series race. Since 2004, NASCAR has worked to develop female and ethnically diverse drivers through its Drive for Diversity Program. As of 2023, Tammy is happily retired, makes her living as a motorcycle dealer, and has a net worth of $1.5 million. NASCAR's program for potential stars, the K&N Pro Series, includes just one female -- 16-year-old Hailie Deegan, daughter of extreme motorcycle athlete Brian Deegan who made her K&N East debut . Then in 2015, Long joined Obika Racing. 16 Of The Most Gorgeous and Talented Race Car Drivers Ever - Motor Junkie After a 7th place finish in Martinsville a year later, Patrick tied Guthrie for most Top 10 finishes by a female NASCAR driver. 2012 was the first season as a NASCAR-sanctioned series, so the list will be made from 2012 onwards. In that first race at Charlotte in 1949, she became the first female driver to compete in NASCARs top division, qualifying 13th and finishing 14th in a Ford owned by her husband, Frank. Gracie Trotter (Source: Twitter) In 2007, she earned the title of the first female driver winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A handful of women (such as Mackena Bell and Kenzie Ruston) have raced with the help of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program since its creation in 2004. You have entered an incorrect email address! Career Indianapolis 500 laps led: 29. She signed with Black Cat Racing the same year but ended her tenure during Speedweeks. Alumni include NASCAR Cup Series drivers Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez. In 2010, IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick joined NASCAR, racing part-time in the K&N Pro Series East and the Nationwide Series. She has established herself as one of the hottest racing drivers, as well as one of the hottest female athletes in general. As her father used to run late models, Long got her inspiration from him. Although her NASCAR career was brief, what Sara Christian accomplished has more than stood the test of time. Toni Breidinger (born July 14, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver & Victoria's Secret Model who competes full-time for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. However, her biggest accomplishment, she told ABC News, was earning her sponsorship with RV product manufacturer ICON Direct last year. Christian stands alone as the first woman driver in NASCAR history. Toni Breidinger, 21, who is of Lebanese descent, has become the first Arab-American female to race in Nascar. Then in 2018, Trotter was chosen as one of the 12 racers for NASCAR'S Drive for Diversity. During . Robinson is the first woman to win a top level NASCAR sanctioned race. [32], Formerly Strictly Stock Series (1949), Grand National Series (195070), Winston Cup Series (19712003), Nextel Cup Series (200407), Sprint Cup Series (200816), and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (201719), Formerly Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series (198283), Busch Grand National Series (198494), Busch Grand National Division (19952003), Busch Series (200407), Nationwide Series (200814) and Xfinity Series (2015), Formerly SuperTruck Series by Craftsman (1995), Craftsman Truck Series (19962008), Camping World Truck Series (20092018), and Gander Outdoors Truck Series (2019). 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In 2017, Brehanna Daniels, an alum of the Drive for Diversity program, became the first Black female over-the-wall tire changer in NASCAR's history. [6] In the second official race, at Daytona Beach and Road Course, Christian was joined by Ethel Mobley and Louise Smith, with Mobley finishing first out of the 3, in 11th. Meet Toni Breidinger, NASCAR's First Arab-American Female Driver - Robb For the 2021 ARCA Menards Series, Grace has decided to race ten races in total but a part-time, driving Number 15 and 25. Her skills on the court were an easy fit for the fast-paced needs in a NASCAR pit crew. 15 and No. It wasn't until 2012, 64 years after NASCAR was founded, that it signed its first female pit crew member, Christmas Abbott. Siegel himself was NASCAR's first highest-ranking Black executive. That year, Patrick became the first woman to win the NASCAR Most Popular Nationwide Driver award. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images. One of her most impressive performances came in September at the challenging Langhorne Speedway, a circular 1-mile track outside of Philadelphia. She finished 3rd in the 2020 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Tia and Bobby Norfleet began a mission to bring awareness to motorsports to children of all backgrounds, especially those in underserved communities and from minority ethnic backgrounds. Her racing career started as a spectator and transformed into 38 wins in various NASCAR formats including sportsman, late models, midgets, and modified. Danica Patrick is the most successful woman in the history of American open wheel racing. Larson, who is half-Japanese, later apologized and said, "I wasn't raised that way.". 5. Kirks last race in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was the 1998 Sams Town 250 (Las Vegas), and in NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 2003 Ford 300 (Homestead). In 2010, IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick joined NASCAR, racing part-time in the K&N Pro Series East and the Nationwide Series. At only 22, she's been helping pave the way for up-and-coming female racers. "You see that symbol, you know that it evokes these feelings of hatred and racial denigration. Brittney Zamora, The First Woman To Win 100-Lap Pro Late Model Feature Race (Source: ENEOS). In the 1940s, racing promoter Bill France, Sr. was looking for ways to attract more women to the sport. In 1988, Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series (later the Goody's Dash Series) driver Shawna Robinson became the first woman to win a NASCAR Touring Series event, also earning "Rookie of the Year" and "Most Popular Driver" honors. Before starting her career as a racer, she was a principal of a Louisiana Middle School, where she ended her tenure in 2004, leading to her first race in 2004 at Aarons 312. Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for BET. Fifi Scott (2 / 1955) [2] Trotter won a race in the renamed ARCA Menards Series West in 2020, becoming the second female winner in the West Series, as well as the first winner in the series under the ARCA banner. Yet, if she had not pursued her passion, she would not see her days when she had bagged numerous wins and awards. Get to Know These Top Female Drivers. The 20 year old ARCA rookie earned pole position during the season opener in Daytona, making her the 3rd woman in ARCA history and the fourth in Daytonas 60 year existence to start a race from pole position. Ethel [Flock] Mobley (2 / 1949) There are two straight-shooting, let's-take-NASCAR-seriously flicks on this list, and "The Last American Hero" is one of them. Patrick is the first female driver to win a pole in NASCAR Sprint Cup . The following year, Guthrie became the first female racer to qualify for the Daytona 500, where she finished 12th, and the Indianapolis 500. Get the latest NASCAR news on driver Hailie Deegan. Brehanna Daniels makes history at NASCAR as 1st Black woman pit member In 2018, Hailie Deegan became the first female driver to win a NASCAR touring series race in roughly three decades, winning in the K&N Pro Series West in the series' race at Meridian Speedway. In 2011, she started driving the No. She married fellow short track driver and Kyle Busch Motorsports engineer Hunter Robbins. "For me to be able to learn the business skills to be able to sign million-dollar sponsors is to me the thing that I'm most proud of because I had to learn how to be a businesswoman before a race car driver to be able to be a race car driver.". Robinson would later become the first female driver to clinch the pole in any of the three major series, winning qualifying for the March 12, 1994 Xfinity Series Busch Light 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Wedding, Kids & Girlfriends. She also drives but only part-time for the NASCAR XFINITY series, driving the #55 Toyota Camry of JP Motorsports. One of the most talented female race drivers, Ashley is the daughter of former national drag . Credit Suisse First Boston Will Have Goldman Sachs-like Partners . NASCAR 2022: Every Cup Series driver and team in the field for this Before we get to know the drivers better, let us look at an overview of the list. Jennifer In Driven 2 Honor Program (Source: U.S. Army). Tia Norfleet wears $1,600 custom racing suits to work, but her chosen profession is far from posh, requiring both laser focus in the moment and continuous off-season training. Martinsville Speedway is the Cup Series' shortest track. However, due to the race not having practice and qualifying, NASCAR would not approve Cobb to compete in it with her lack of prior Cup Series experience. Are There Any Female Drivers In NASCAR? | Sports So impressed was race winner and Hall of Famer Curtis Turner (Class of 2016) that he invited her to Victory Lane to celebrate with him. And yet, since receiving her racing license in 2010 -- the first African-American woman to do so-- Tia Norfleet has battled an alarming number of nay-sayers and obstacles. Top 10 Female NASCAR Drivers: 2023 Edition - CrazyAsk.com In September, Trotter became the 4th woman to win a late model race at Hickory Motor Speedway. Meet NASCAR's first Black woman on pit crew - WKMG In 2013, Patrick became the first woman in Sprint Cup history to race full-time in the series. It's like, why wouldn't that matter? Tom is the Curatorial Affairs Manager of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and a veteran of more than 20 years in the NASCAR media industry.